Willa

Somewhere in this mass of black lab is Willa.  New member of the family.

Murphy's Day.

Expanding

No picture today.  Hopefully more tomorrow.  We're deep into negotiations about expanding the league, herd, team, family.

More tomorrow!

Murphy's Day!

Hmmmm

Shhhhh.  A surprise!

Murphy's Day!

Learning to Swim

I remember taking Sage to Rattlesnake Lake, wading out to my knees, and putting Sage in the water...like my Dad teaching me how to swim (except I seem to remember him throwing me in the pool).  Sage now loves to swim, as does Annie.  But Sage will just go into the water.  Annie wants a stick or ball...then she'll go forever.

And now....?

Murphy's Day.

Saturday

Saturday we went fishing to a spot that I hadn't fished in a long long time.  In fact, the last time I was there, Murphy was still alive.  Sage imitated Murphy, finding a warm spot in the sun and just enjoying the turning Vine maples, the elk bugling.  It was a gorgeous, memorable day.  Annie seemed to love it, finding all sorts of odd smelling things to roll in...gotta' love a lab and their amazing ability to find anything smelly.

It was a great day.

Murphy's Day!

Waiting

At the risk of being coy, Annie and Sage are in waiting mode...something is about to happen....

Murphy's Day

Getting Old Isn't for Sissies

This has been a hard summer for Sage.  A variety of things slowed her down, a bit, including a contusion to her left front leg (she thought she was a barrel racing lab!).  While getting old for us humans is hard enough, it's harder, for me, to watch the girls age.  I have to be the one telling her not to do the third lap on her mad dog, or that she can't come running along Blackbird Island.  For those of you who have had to tell your parents they can no longer drive, telling a lab she can't romp is similar.  Not fun.

On the other hand, we're just trying to be "smart" about her aging, just like I am trying to be smart about my knees....ha!

Murphy's Day.

Not Too Much Longer

As many of you  know, other than dogs, or labs specifically, my other passion is fly fishing.  And one of my favorite places to fish is a small but gorgeous mountain stream in North Central Washington.  For years the fishing season ended in October, but because of some possible endangered species issues, the season now closes at the end of this month.  This year we were unable to fish this stream very much because the run-off came so late.  So, we got in late and now are in the waning days of saying "until next year."

The dogs love going with me.  They can swim (I'm not uptight about them interfering with my fishing, for me it's more about being out than catching and releasing anything), hang out, find sticks, sniff all the wild animal scents...it's a perfect outing for the girls.

And so it is not too much longer.  After the end of this month we'll walk the shore, looking longingly at the creek, scouting, perhaps, for new places to cast.

Murphy's Day.

Crossing Log Bridges

Sage is a funny girl.  As she has gotten older, she has become more nervous about things.  On our Sunday hike she calmly walked over this log bridge on the way into the lake, but coming out, she seemed scared to cross it, carefully examining the water to see if there was a way she could fjord the stream rather than walk over the bridge, backing up, looking at me...so, I got behind her, encouraging her that it was ok, I was here....she literally took a deep breath, tucked her tail, and scooted across.

I suspect that part of the problem is she gets tired then stops trusting her legs, then gets scared.  But she really is a brave, stoic dog.  And once she knows someone will cross the bridge with her, she will do it.

Metaphoric, don't you think?

Murphy's Day!

Sympathy Cards By the Case

"I should be buying sympathy cards by the case, " I said to a friend last week.  Good friends losing parents, a close friend of my parents, and just yesterday I learned my friends Richard and Judy lost their Bassett, Romeo.  Hard on both of them, of course, made even worse because Judy had to be there with Romeo while Richard was driving around the West looking for rivers to fish.  Romeo was Richard's buddy, helped raise their daughter, and provided every one a laugh with his antics.

It is hard on our hearts, to love and lose. And there comes a time in life when it seems every day brings news of another loss.  Years and years ago, a wise woman told me: "to love again after such a loss is a tribute to the love you had."

Murphy's Day.

New Meetings of Old Friends

Les is on the left, Richard on the right

As my friend Les would say: "these are meaningful moments."  And they were.  I finally met Richard, from Massachusetts, the basketball March Brown Madness pool bamboo fly rod Hardy reel guru.  After we lunched just outside of Portland, Oregon, we drove to the Oregon Coast Range, somewhere between Junction City and Florence, and met Les and Ann.  It was delightful.  Ann prepared an amazing meal, Les grilled humongous steaks, and we talked about things that matter to us.  The next morning I ran with Les to his son's place, then had yet again another amazing meal.  It was very difficult for me to leave...in fact, as I was driving up I-5 talking with a close friend I said: "I left part of my heart down there."

It still simply amazes me that people who have never met can be so familiar and comfortable.  Fishing stories zinged back and forth, discussions of children, schooling, and food...despite our political similarities, we rarely mentioned politics.  We just had fun.

I am looking forward to more time together.  As my world seems to have changed more and more, loss of parents, trying to figure out what I want to do in my life...it is so very nice to know there are friends there, who care, who worry, and who will be there.  

And did I mention Les and Ann's dog, Kol?  Great black lab.  I didn't take "the girls," so he certainly helped me not to miss them as much.  

New meetings of old friends.  Can't get much better.

Murphy's Day.

An Overnight Visit

As many of you know aside from "the girls" my other passion is fly fishing.  I don't get out as much as I would like, and with all the endangered species issues in Washington, fishing can be a frustrating experiences of spending way too much time trying to divine what the fishing regulations will allow you to do.  But, once I am out and on the water, I am usually a happy camper.  It gives me time outside, time with the girls, and time challenging myself.

One of the great things about fly fishing is people who do it like to talk about it.  Long before Facebook, Twitter, and other social media, a professor from Kentucky set up a list serv that over time acquired around 1,000 members from all over the world.  The number has dwindled over the past 15 years, but through that list I have met some wonderful people.  Several artists from Canada, my good friend Bill in Wyoming, and my dear friend Dave Lewis who died two years ago.  From this list serv, a smaller group of us have corresponded over politics, life, and food.  One of my friends, Richard, is on his sabbatical from teaching, winding his way West fishing.  Today I am off to meet him, finally, face-to-face and to journey to Oregon to meet another member of the list.  The girls will stay home, since we're visiting another friend with cats...and we all know where that would end up.

Back home tomorrow, back on the blog on Friday, I hope!

Murphy's Day.

What Do You Do With A Dog Named Annie?

Murphy had her own song...ok, it was really Louie Louie with the lyrics changed to Murphy Murphy, oh oh, we're going to go now, whoa whoa whoa whoa....And Sage has a version of James Taylor's Sweet Baby James, which is, of course, Sweet Baby Sage.  


Only the amazing Rogers and Hammerstein could come up with Annie's song.  From the Sound of Music, we need to substitute the nuns singing What do we do with a girl named Maria? for me singing what do we do with a lab named Annie?  


The "theme" songs are fun and it's amazing, but with Murphy, she really did recognize her song.  I do remember holding her at the end, stroking her head, and singing Murphy Murphy.  I'm sure she still dances to it.

Murphy's Day!

Another Weekend, Another Lake

We stayed in Seattle this weekend.  Lots of things to get done: do you have any idea how cathartic it is to recycle all the "dead" electronics that reside in your basement?  Two trips! Three TVs, countless cell phones, mice, screens, keyboards, USB cords....then, since it was hot, we finally got the kayaks out and roamed Shilshole, the marvelous body of water just below the house.  Of course, we kept our eye on the U Dub game (yeah Dawgs) and thought about, yes, I'll say it publicly, whether to get the puppy that has been offered to us...

Sunday was hike day.  I'd heard about two lakes near Crystal Mountain, near where we took the gondolas.  So after some morning errands, we left on the hike, my fly rod in hand.  It was hot, the hike was hotter, but the reward was this great lake.  No fish there, but some in the outflow stream...a great afternoon.

So, the puppy.  It's a long story, but a female black lab is available.  She is gorgeous, from a family breeder (which I prefer), mom is a yellow, father a black hunting lab....three???????

But it was good to get out.  We thought of all our friends in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.  Those horrifying moments we all witnessed, shared, grieved, lost.  And we thought of our friends who just lost their mother and mother-in-law.  And then we heard Annie cannon-ball into this lake.  Like no one I know, she can seize the moment.  There is something of value in that.

Murphy's Day.

Doug Mason's 61st Birthday

Today would have been Doug Mason's 61st birthday.  This summer we lost his mother, Evelyn Mason Brueggeman.  There are few things worse for a family than losing a son, brother, husband at an early age.

For me, every time I'm in the mountains, I can feel Doug.  We created many memories in the Cascades, Olympics, and Rockies.  I think he would have loved the labs, enjoyed fly fishing, and reveled in the hikes to high alpine lakes.  Even though it's been many many years, I miss being able to share the adventures I have, the friends I have made, the life I now live.

Happy Birthday, Doug.

Swimming with Diamonds

I simply love this picture.  Sage and Annie at Cutthroat Lake.  With the light, it looks like they are swimming with diamonds.  And in a sense they were...a high alpine lake, time outside, cool water (or escape from the swarming mosquitoes, which I have been eaten alive by them these past few days so I finally learned how to spell mosquito correctly).

I really enjoy these kind of outings with the girls.  The trail was not that hard, and, of course, Annie did twice the distance than the rest of us, but for both girls when they got to the lake, their eyes opened wide and it was stampede time to the water.  They seem to love the scents, the mere activity of hiking, and I love watching them enjoy themselves.  We are creating memories that last forever.  I still say: "remember when we took Murphy to...."

Murphy's Day.

Ye-haw!

I am a rodeo fanatic.  Possibly because I attended many of them when I was growing up.  Perhaps it is that no one knows how to starch a shirt better than a rodeo cowboy.  Or maybe it's the sense that part of history is being played out...so on Sunday, I went to the Ellensburg Rodeo.  It was "tough enough to wear pink" day, the day that rodeo participants show their unity with breast cancer victims.  And phew, do cowboys know how to wear a pink shirt!

It was hot, dusty, and fun.  The girls stayed home, anxiously waiting for dinner and some play time.  I came home with ideas of horses, saddles, and starched shirts!  Ye-haw!

Murphy's Day.

Cutthroat Lake

A summer tradition for us is to hike into Cutthroat Lake (in the North Cascades).  It's one of the stunning high alpine lakes in the Cascades.  Saturday we left, got to the trailhead in the afternoon, and hiked in.  And it was indeed it was gorgeous.  The dogs leapt into the lake, and I fished (dodging, again, some aggressive mosquitoes.  With the late snow melt, every lake has a bog and bogs bring on mosquitoes.).  Fishing was great, I caught some beautiful Cutthroat trout, dogs had fun, and it was a long day but a great adventure.

Every time I am in  the high mountains, I think of people in my life who I have lost (and of course my dogs).  I feel their spirits soaring in the mountains....it's good for me to get into the high lakes.

We're still over in eastern Washington, home later today.

Murphy's Day

Wildflowers

Of course, there were the great views of Mt. Rainier and other mountains, but also, magnificent wildflowers.  It was an absolutely stunning day.

Have a great long weekend!  We're off for other adventures.

Murphy's Day!

Heading for the Barn (or car)

Sage has a horse-like attitude about our adventures.  They are fine for awhile but at some point, she feels, she has to take control and get us all back to the barn (or car).  She becomes focused on the task at hand.  Follow this trail.

Annie, still a pup really, is the explorer.  She dove into every small mountain lake, ran through the meadows, rolled on her back in the middle of the wildflowers, and stopped to listen to the marmot.  Both seemed to enjoy the day, even though it started with the strange gondola-thing.  And I thoroughly loved being in this spectacular place with my two best friends.

Murphy's Day!